The Forgotten (Star Trek: Enterprise)

Captain Archer tells the crew that they will carry on, but will remember the 18 crew members who died in the recent battle with the Xindi ("Azati Prime"). He directs Enterprise to rendezvous with Degra. He also orders Commander Tucker to write a letter to the parents of Jane Taylor, a member of his engineering team who died in the battle. Also, Sub-Commander T'Pol discusses with Doctor Phlox the consequences of her Trellium addiction, and is troubled when he tells her the damage to her ability to control emotions may be permanent - a more pessimistic prognosis than before.

Arriving at a sphere, Enterprise is soon approached by Degra and Jannar's ship, whom Archer invites on board in an attempt to gain their trust. He reveals his evidence: the Reptilian corpses and technology of the failed viral attack against 2004 Earth (as per the episode "Carpenter Street"), images of the dying alien who attempted to destroy the ship (as per "Harbinger"), and scans of the interior of a sphere (as per "Anomaly"). He reiterates that Humans and Xindi are predestined to form an alliance to stop the Sphere Builders' incursion in the future. But he also demands that Degra reveal information about the weapon and its launch schedule. An increasingly persuaded Degra promises to do what he can to delay it.

Meanwhile, a dangerous plasma fire erupts unnoticed on Enterprise's hull. Initially the blaze is small, but it expands until Tucker and Lieutenant Reed are forced to extinguish it. Throughout the crises, Tucker repeatedly undermines the Captain's authority by reviling Degra for the suffering he caused during the first attack on Earth that killed his sister. To make matters worse, a large Reptilian ship arrives and they are forced to work together to destroy it, despite Degra's reluctance to attack fellow Xindi. With their pact now sealed, Degra suggests a meeting with the rest of the Council and provides Archer with the coordinates.

While the Degra/Xindi plot unfolds, T'Pol's ongoing emotional rebirth continues. In the mess hall, seeking solace from Phlox's diagnosis, she sits at Tucker's table and learns he has not slept in over 2 days. Later, after an auxiliary supply line bursts coolant, Tucker is enraged and openly berates an engineering staffer in the hallway that he should have prevented it. First Officer T'Pol, walking by, pulls Tucker off the staffer. She again discusses sleep. Tucker says the ship will implode if he doesn't keep working. T'Pol counters that the ship's mission will fail if Tucker collapses from sleep deprivation. News trickles back to Phlox, who commands Tucker to confine himself to his quarters for sleep. They negotiate, but Phlox gets what he wants. In his quarters Tucker wakes from his sleep, disturbed, walks the halls, and finds himself in Jane Taylor's destroyed quarters. He turns and sees her, asking him why he can't say anything about her: "Didn't I mean anything to you?". He says he can't, then awakens from his dream. This leads to a meeting between Tucker and T'Pol, where Tucker confesses that he can't write to Taylor's parents because he won't let himself think about Taylor, a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her, much like his dead sister. T'Pol is clearly moved, and as Tucker breaks down into tears, she reaches out to touch him to comfort him. Tucker, lost in his grief, says Vulcans are lucky that they don't feel these things. T'Pol responds that she does feel these things far too deeply to control, and it is humans who are lucky. (In a syndicated {H&I} version, there is an abrupt fadeout at this moment, where it's suspected this emotional breakdown of each - together - has a smoother ending on some other version.) After this interaction with T'Pol, Tucker finally completes a simple and touching letter to Ms. Taylor's parents. T'Pol has provided emotional healing.

"The Forgotten" was the seventh episode of Enterprise to be directed by LeVar Burton.

The episode was the third of the season to be directed by Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus LeVar Burton. He had previously directed two episodes in each of the first two seasons of the show. "The Forgotten" marked the first episode jointly written by Chris Black and David A. Goodman. They had each written several episodes of the series previously on a solo basis, and Goodman also wrote the Star Trek themed Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".[1]

Both Randy Oglesby and Rick Worthy returned in their recurring guest roles as members of the Xindi council, while Bob Morrisey returned to Enterprise as a Reptilian Captain, having previously appeared in the episode "Stigma" as Doctor Strom. Joining in a brief appearance as an Engineer in "The Forgotten" was Seth MacFarlane, creator of the television series Family Guy.[1] He made one further appearance in the series, in the season four episode "Affliction" where his character was given the name of Ensign Rivers.[2]

Production began on "The Forgotten" on January 23, 2004 and overlapped with three other episodes. This meant that the first day's shoot only involved Connor Trinneer, Jolene Blalock and Kipleigh Brown. When filming resumed after the weekend, the rest of the cast joined in the shooting on "The Forgotten" using a variety of standing sets for the Enterprise showing damage resulting from the action in earlier episodes. An additional set which made its first appearance was the morgue on the ship, which was holding three Reptilian-Xindi from the episode "Carpenter Street". Filming concluded on February 2, with an additional special effects shoot for the outside hull effects on the following day with Trinneer and Dominic Keating. The remainder of the cast began filming on the following episode, "E²".[1]

"The Forgotten" was first aired in the United States on UPN on April 28, 2004. According to Nielsen Media Research, it received a 2.2/4 percent share among adults. This means that it was seen by 2.2 percent of all households, and 4 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode broadcast after this episode, "E²", received the same ratings as "The Forgotten". This was an increase from the previous episode, "Damage", which had received a 2.0/3 percent share and was the lowest watched episode of the season.[3] TV Guide noted this for a cameo by Seth McFarlane, famous as a voice actor for several animated shows in the early 2000s; he also appears in the episode "Affliction".[4]

In 2014, The A.V. Club gave this an honorable mention in their list of recommended Enterprise television episodes.[5]

The first home media release of "The Forgotten" was as part of the season three DVD box set, released in the United States on September 27, 2005.[6] The Blu-ray release of Enterprise was announced in early 2013,[7] and released on January 7, 2014.[8]

• The Forgotten at IMDb
• "The Forgotten" at TV.com

• The Forgotten at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

• The Forgotten at StarTrek.com